Michael Henchard, the mayor of Casterbridge, has problems with failing grain crops. He receives a note from Donald Farfrae with possible solutions. Henchard writes back, interested to meet with Farfrae. Meanwhile, Susan Newson and her daughter Elizabeth-Jane arrive in Casterbridge, having learned Henchard is now the mayor after he was the man who bought Susan years ago when drunk. Henchard and Farfrae eventually form a partnership, with Farfrae later becoming mayor and marrying Elizabeth-Jane after her father returns. Henchard dies, a man beaten down by his past mistakes.

1. The Mayor of Casterbridge
By Thomas Hardy
Presented by Kyle Rae

3. Major Characters
 Michael Henchard
 Elizabeth-Jane
 Susan Henchard Newson
 Mr. Newson
 Donald Farfrae

5. Thomas Hardy was born June 2 1840. As a
boy attended the Stinson Chapel. At 16 he
became an apprentice architect. Wrote
many books like the Under the Greenwood
Tree, A Pair of Blue Eyes, and Far From the
Madding Crowd. He also wrote some plays
and poems in his life time.

6. He got married in 1914 to Florence Emily
Dugdale. She published The Life of
Thomas Hardy. Thomas received many
honorable mentions in his life. He dead on
January 11 1928 at his home in Dorchester.

7.  The husband gets drunk and sells his wife and child to a sailor
 Husband makes an oath never to get drunk again
 He tries to find his family to get them back and make everything
right
 He does not find them and just gives up

8.  Susan’s new Husband has been lost at sea
 Her and her daughter try to find Michael Henchard.
 They travel to the fair that she was sold at to find him.
 Asks an old lady that owned the place where she was sold and
asked where to find Michael.
 The old lady said that he came back and said he was heading to
Casterbridge.
 They arrived at Casterbridge and went to an inn, and found out
that Michael Henchard the man they were looking for was the
mayor.

9.  Susan and Elizabeth-Jane where watching the mayor
while he was having a meeting with people of the
town about the problem that they are currently having.
 A Scottish man is there and writes something on a
piece of paper and hands it to a waiter.
 He tells the waiter to give it to the mayor.
 The major gets the piece of paper and tries to find the
young man that had wrote it

10.  Elizabeth-Jane helps out the people inn the
in to pay for food for her and her mom.
 She delivers food to the Scottish mans room
and talks to him.
 When she gets down stairs she sees the
mayor.
 Tells her mom what she has seen and hears
the mayor talking to the Scottish man

11.  Henchard and Farfrae make a deal to work
together
 Farfrae ends up being the mayor
 Newson returns to find his family
 Farfrae marries Henchards step daughter
 Henchard dies

12. Dear Mr. Farfrae:
My name is Michael Henchard and I am the mayor of Casterbridge. I
have received the piece of paper that you wrote and I was very intrigued but
what was written down. It seems to me that you might have an answer to the
problem that we are currently having here.
The problem that we are currently having is that the grain that we are
growing is failing and is no good. We don’t know why this is happening but
we would like to find out. We have not changed the area that we are growing
it so the soil is not the problem, and we water the crops everyday.
If you have anytime I would like to make a meeting with you. Come to
my office and we can make an appointment. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Michael Henchard
Mayor of Casterbridge

13. criticism
Henchard is a man apparently beaten by circumstance (failed corn
crops, letters found too late, coincidental appearances of figures
from his past). His strong passion, however, causes him to be
blind to his own weaknesses.
Hardy's main concern is to explore the nature of tragedy and the
tragic hero.

14. Work Citied
 famouspoetsandpoems.com
 digitalbooks.moldi.org
 http://www.online-literature.com/hardy/